Who's in It: Debbie Doebereiner, Dustin James Ashley, Misty Dawn Wilkins
The Basics: Well, it's a murder mystery about three people who work in a doll factory making those freaky, nightmare-faced dolls everyone has owned but, like clowns, everyone mostly hates. They have dismal lives that erupt into violence. But that's not really what it's about. It's a deadpan, minimalist, capital-A art film about working-class people stuck in depressing lives. And to prove it, it was shot on video and looks as awful as it feels.
What's the Deal? Movies like this are nothing new. Director Steven Soderbergh is no trailblazer when it comes to process. It was shot for almost no money using non-professional actors (Doebereiner, for example, manages a KFC), the dialogue is minimal and flat and the camera spends a lot of time stuck in one place. Hardcore art-house junkies are used to this sort of thing. But still, it's interesting to watch a mainstream Hollywood dude get bored with the nonstop luxury of the Ocean's movies and go back to his roots.
The Selling Point: Every media story about this movie rehashes these facts, but just in case you haven't heard yet, this is Soderbergh's experiment in marketing. It's being released in about 30 theaters nationwide, while nearly simultaneously being made available on pay-per-view cable and DVD. You can see it now, even if you live in a tiny town like the one they shot the movie in. Now, if Soderbergh does this same thing with his next Julia Roberts movie, we'll see whether it really works.
Lines Taped to the Floor: When I say minimal, deadpan acting, I mean it. You could be forgiven for thinking that everyone in this movie is insanely nervous and unprepared. But again, it plays like "Yeah, we meant to do that."
Why It's Worth Watching: Because even though it's a bummer, there's a lot of bizarre humor to dig. And like Britney Spears said — disdainfully and stupidly — when she went to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time, "The movies are weird." If you've never opened yourself up to the weird side of movies, then this is as decent a place as any to start.